WHAT WE DO
Cole’s Crusade’s mission is to help children and families in their home community of Wisconsin who have had or has a critical illness and to teach youth how to help others in the State of Wisconsin.
Your donations go directly to families who deserve to see their children become crusaders of their own illness, researchers fighting to find a cure to pediatric illnesses, and to other nonprofits who further support our mission.
WHY WE DO IT
Children and families endure incredible financial hardship when faced with a diagnosis of a critical illness. One in four families report spending more than 40% of their annual household income for care expenses, not including other out-of-pocket expenses like travel and extra childcare after diagnosis. As a result, 94% of parents report they either cut hours or were forced to quit their job to tend to their child’s illness. Reports also show “the overall survival rate for children living in poverty five years after diagnosis is 85%. Of the kids who experience relapse within 36 months after remission, 92% are poor children, compared with 48% for wealthier children.” With your contributions, we have the ability to give back to those families in need while increasing the survival rate and decreasing the chances of relapse. We are motivated to provide additional financial help to these families in hopes to ease their troubles.
Approximately 1 in 285 children in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer before their 20th birthday, which does not include many other terminal illnesses children face today. The Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin offers 298 beds and more than 1,000 active clinical trials. To continue their efforts to save children and end pediatric critical illness, researchers require financial support beyond government funding. Cole has seen the struggle of financial complexities with his own eyes during his process of his diagnosis for PSC. With your help, we can provide additional funding back to families in hospitals so kids all around the country can receive the care they deserve.
Since starting Cole’s Cancer Crusade in 2016, Cole has shared his story to thousands of individuals while raising over $20,000 to give back and spread awareness of pediatric illness to kids so they know the battles which their fellow classmates, teammates, or neighbors may be fighting. Cole also highlights the importance of this awareness by kids to spark action and inspiration to make a difference in their community through volunteering, speaking, and events. Most awareness campaigns are aimed towards adults in effort to provide funding, which we greatly value. Yet, the involvement of children to the effort to end childhood critical illnesses can create massive change in our world for the better, from tiny neighborhoods to large cities. Giving kids a voice in our communities at a young age sets them up to be the next generation of leaders we all wish for you to see.
Cole's Crusade 